Here at Naeco we are convinced that the best material is the one whose performance is the most efficient for a given application. Nowadays, we must not only think about the mechanical performance of the material but also its environmental impact. Committing to sustainable materials allows companies committed to the environment to comply with corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies, to commit to sustainable development goals (SDGs) and to adapt to one of the main demands of society. So, depending on the desired objectives, it is possible to select between several options and lines of material.
The range of materials we have available for our products consists of:
We can distinguish these materials in the material reference because they begin with the lower-case letter c (Compound/Certificate). Examples: cPP-E, cPP-EM…
We can distinguish these materials in the material reference as they start with the lower-case letter r (Recycled). Examples: rPP, rHDPE…
We can distinguish these materials in the reference because they do not have any letter before the material reference. Examples: PP 8025, PE 4550…
Virgin materials thermoplastic polymers produced by petrochemical companies (generally multinational companies) which dominate the manufacturing chain of the necessary sub-raw materials necessary for production, like petroleum ethylene, etc. For this reason, this is a highly atomized market with few, very large and powerful players.
On the contrary, a recycled material is a thermoplastic polymer obtained from recycling certain plastic products originally manufactured with new or recycled materials. These materials are processed by recycling companies, usually much smaller than the petrochemical companies.
For manufacturing a virgin material, the manufacturer always uses the same formulation, with controlled elements; for this reason, the product is homogeneous over time and has a technical data sheet with certain established values and mechanical behaviour. This means that the manufacturer knows the elements of which the material is made. Likewise, the manufacturer has exhaustive quality controls to ensure product stability.
On the other side, a recycled material is generally made of the blend of different plastic pieces, produced with different grades of the same polymer. Therefore, recycled material is the result of a mix of polymers, with varying properties, because of different proportions of the materials being recycled. To control these variations and ensure that the properties comply with the pallet requirements, Naeco has an in-house plastic characterization lab allowing us establishing the necessary quality controls.
For this reason, the main difference between both materials is that virgin material has homogenous and known characteristics, while recycled material is heterogeneous and unknown. However, thanks to today´s existing recycling technology, handling recycled materials to achieve high quality results is possible.
The Food Use Certification is a property of the pallet, the crate or container coming from the materials used in its production. In order to obtain such certification, it is necessary for the manufacturer of said material to issue a document approved by a certifying body such as the US FDA accrediting said property. This certification consists of the guarantee that the material can be in direct contact with food for an indefinite period without this having any effect on said food. This certification is the one that has to fulfill for example a bottle that will contain water destined for its commercialization.
A priori, a pallet is an element of tertiary packaging that is in contact with the ground and which carries other types of packaging elements which in turn contain the products transported. Therefore, for most applications it is not essential that pallets comply with the Food Use Certification. However, certain applications such as pallets for "White Rooms", our crates or containers require this certification for which it is indispensable to use virgin (new) materials mainly due to the impossibility of a recycler to issue a certificate of recycled material because he ignores the internal composition of the materials processed.
This does not mean that the recycled materials are not suitable for Food Use, but most of them (except in special cases) lack such certification. It is important to note that traditional wooden pallets do not have these certifications or equivalents.
Certain goods, especially on the food sector, are transported throughout the whole distribution chain, in frozen environments. In this kind of environments, the use of pallets, crates and containers of plastic is of great interest, because they do not change their weight or size because of moisture, they are waterproof odourless and can be washed
However, not all plastic materials are adequate for application at -20º C or less. At Naeco, we recommend the use of rHDPE (High Density Polyethylene) given its good performance to impacts in applications at very low temperatures. With the use of rHDPE the addition of no other product is needed to allow the durable use of the pallet in this kind of environments.